During operation of a motor driven walk-behind garden tool, such as a walk-behind lawn mower, vibrations originating from the engine and an operating unit, such as a cutting unit, might be transmitted to the handle assembly of the tool, and further to the hands of an operator. It is well known that exposing an operator to such vibrations can be injurious, and cause problems such as the white finger syndrome. Moreover, components of the garden tool may be damaged and/or come loose.
So far, two main categories of solutions are used in order to minimize the amount of vibrations reaching the hands of the operator.
The first category includes garden tools having anti-vibrated handles. EP1613143B1 discloses a lawn mower in which the handle assembly is provided with vibration damping means. A major drawback with solutions based on anti-vibrated handles is that the operator might experience that the handle feels non-rigid and that it becomes more difficult to manoeuvre the garden tool.
The second category of solutions has resulted in garden tools having anti-vibrated engines. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,218 discloses a lawn mower in which damping means are provided between the engine and a cover portion of the lawn mower. A drawback with this solution is that the vibration levels of the engine might result in worn out or damaged engine components. However, a remaining problem is that the engine in this case is subjected to high vibration levels, which in turn may result in motor wear and a reduced motor life. In order to reduce the vibration levels in the engine, EP1631141B1 proposes a lawn mower in which the engine is rigidly connected with the cover portion, whereas damping means are provided between the cover portion and a wheel frame of the lawn mower. According to this solution, the vibration levels of the engine will be reduced by the mass of the cover portion, counteracting the movements of the engine. However, the vibration levels of the engine will still be problematic. Moreover, using a grass collector will be troublesome when the lawn mower is designed according to EP1631141B1.